Thursday, September 24, 2015

I do receive a lot of questions on how and why I get to travel abroad at least twice a year. They still think that traveling abroad is only for the alta (a colloquial term for rich people), which brings me to two things: (i) am I that dukha-looking?; and (ii) are they aware of piso or promo fares?

Kidding aside, I think it's about time to share on how I plan and execute my trips abroad.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

At dusk, the sun settles over the western horizon. Buildings start to flicker and Hong Kong becomes more alive and more vibrant. Over the years of rapid developments, Hong Kong's population skyrocketed. Because land development is limited and expensive, there's no way but to go up, literally. This former British colony is tagged as one of the world's most vertical cities with numerous skyscrapers towering the islands of Hong Kong, New Territories, and Kowloon.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Every time I ask my friends on what was the first country they've visited, majority answered Hong Kong. Well, it's primarily because of two things: Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park, and its close proximity from Manila, Philippines (it only takes an hour and forty-five minutes to reach Hong Kong, the same travel time when you fly from Manila to Davao).

Hong Kong was a former British colony until in 1997, it became a special administrative region of China granted with a full autonomy. Rapid economic developments were seen in the early 70s and even after it was formally handed over to China, Hong Kong still remains as one of the most important cities not only in Asia but also to the world. No wonder why it was dubbed as the Asia's World City. This special administrative region of China also serves as an important hub or transit in air travel, making their one and only international airport as one of the busiest and highly revered airports in the world in terms of connectivity, and passenger comfort.

Monday, September 14, 2015

One shouldn't miss this UNESCO World Heritage Site when visiting Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Candi Borobudur (pronounced as 'Chandee', which literally means temple), is the world's largest Buddhist temple, and as well as one of the greatest Buddhist monuments built in the whole world. I have been dying to visit this temple since high school, blame it to my obsession in Asian history and culture. Since the day I've first read about this place, I knew right from the start that I have to see this place before I die.

Nothing's really unusual with this candi except that it was decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The temple comprises of six square platforms, topped with three circular platforms. People all over the world travel to this renowned world heritage site simply because of its allegory to enlightenment.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Indonesia is very accessible if you are flying in to Jakarta however, it doesn't wholly represent the entire Indonesian culture. That's why, we opted to visit places outside the capital city: Bandung, Taman Safari in Bogor, and Yogyakarta (aka Jogja). Thus, if you want to experience the 'real' Indonesia, get the hell out of Jakarta because the gridlock traffic won't take you to anywhere.

To escape the carmageddon traffic of the capital, we took a flight from Jakarta to Yogyakarta, a thriving metropolitan city of Central Java. Booking a flight to Jogja from the capital was probably the best decision we've made in this entire trip. Aside from saving us from eternal damnation, it had allowed us to discover more about the Indonesian culture and heritage.